Latest news with #D6
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
This founder wants to create the Tesla of bulldozers. Here's the 32-ton prototype.
Ahmed Shubber, 25, started EV bulldozer startup Lumina in 2021. He recently unveiled a prototype called Moonlander, a 32-ton, all-electric bulldozer. He told Business Insider that he wants to take the "Tesla approach" to building his company. Ahmed Shubber, a 25-year-old founder from Connecticut, wants to compete with the Caterpillars of the construction industry by building the Tesla of bulldozers. Shubber's company, Lumina, has been operating in stealth since 2021 and has since grown to a team of 26 people and raised an $8 million seed round, according to the founder. On Wednesday, Shubber demonstrated Lumina's first prototype, the Moonlander, in San Francisco. In an interview with Business Insider, Shubber said he spent around $3 million building the all-electric, 32-ton bulldozer. The tractor was assembled in the UK, with parts coming in from nearly 200 different suppliers, he said. David Wright, Lumina's head of UK operations, told BI that the Moonlander has the same footprint as Caterpillar's D6, a medium-sized bulldozer, but can push the same amount of load as a D9, a much larger tractor. Wright said the blade attached to the Moonlander's body at the Wednesday demonstration is the same size as the blade typically seen on a D9 tractor. "A D6 could not push that blade," he said. "We can have that blade full of material, full dozing seven to nine cubic meters of material, for eight to 10 hours." Wright said a charging station would be required on a project site. "It can charge at 300 kilowatts, so we can go from zero to full in an hour and a quarter," he said. "Even if you spend all morning heavy dozing and you're a bit worried about how much juice you've used — well, your operators are going to take a union-mandated lunch break, right? Plug it in, and in 30 minutes, you've put 50% of power back in again," Wright said. Shubber told BI that he's taking the "Tesla approach" by building everything from the hardware and software stack in-house, including what Lumina hopes will be the Moonlander's autonomous capabilities. "If you look at every great company that's tackling autonomy — Waymo, Tesla — they built their own hardware stack from scratch," he said. "Waymo built all their sensors from scratch. Tesla built a car from scratch. And I think if we really want to have huge market penetration, I think you need to follow the same approach and not just slap on off-the-shelf parts." The Wednesday demonstration did not show the Moonlander operating independently, but Shubber said the bulldozer is equipped with Nvidia chips, so the Moonlander can be equipped with a full autonomous sensor suite when it's ready. Lumina's origin has the inklings of the classic Silicon Valley startup story. Shubber, who has no formal background in robotics or construction, told BI that he started his company inside his parents' garage with a hand-me-down John Deere garden tractor. He said he got the equipment for free on Facebook Marketplace and retrofitted it with sensors himself to make it operate remotely. For funding, Shubber said he messaged about 3,000 potential angel investors, and about 10 responded. His first angel investor was Peter Reinhardt, who sold his company Segment, a customer data management platform, to Twilio for $3.2 billion in 2020. Shubber said Reinhardt wrote him a $20,000 check, which allowed the founder to buy a skid steer tractor and automate it. "Ahmed reached out to me years ago on Twitter which I usually ignore, but he was incredibly persistent and showing progress on an extraordinarily thin personal budget," Reinhardt said in an email to BI. "It reminded me of hardware projects I had in college. Maybe a bit too much naive, confidence, and bravado, but I think I had that too ... I figured he deserved a solid shot and I wrote him that first check." Reinhardt added that Shubber has made a lot of progress on the Moonlander and that the founder has a "massive vision." Shubber said he's now looking to raise $20 million to $40 million for its Series A round. He said his revenue target in the next 24 months is $100 million. Shubber said Lumina's business model won't be focused on selling equipment. Instead, it will be the company that performs the excavation on project sites. The start date goal is January 2026. Shunner said Lumina's next prototype is already in the works: a 100-ton electric excavator called Blade Runner. Read the original article on Business Insider
Business Insider
26-05-2025
- Automotive
- Business Insider
This founder wants to create the Tesla of bulldozers. Here's the 32-ton prototype.
Ahmed Shubber, a 25-year-old founder from Connecticut, wants to compete with the Caterpillars of the construction industry by building the Tesla of bulldozers. Shubber's company, Lumina, has been operating in stealth since 2021 and has since grown to a team of 26 people and raised an $8 million seed round, according to the founder. On Wednesday, Shubber demonstrated Lumina's first prototype, the Moonlander, in San Francisco. In an interview with Business Insider, Shubber said he spent around $3 million building the all-electric, 32-ton bulldozer. The tractor was assembled in the UK, with parts coming in from nearly 200 different suppliers, he said. David Wright, Lumina's head of UK operations, told BI that the Moonlander has the same footprint as Caterpillar's D6, a medium-sized bulldozer, but can push the same amount of load as a D9, a much larger tractor. Wright said the blade attached to the Moonlander's body at the Wednesday demonstration is the same size as the blade typically seen on a D9 tractor. "A D6 could not push that blade," he said. "We can have that blade full of material, full dozing seven to nine cubic meters of material, for eight to 10 hours." Wright said a charging station would be required on a project site. "It can charge at 300 kilowatts, so we can go from zero to full in an hour and a quarter," he said. "Even if you spend all morning heavy dozing and you're a bit worried about how much juice you've used — well, your operators are going to take a union-mandated lunch break, right? Plug it in, and in 30 minutes, you've put 50% of power back in again," Wright said. Shubber told BI that he's taking the "Tesla approach" by building everything from the hardware and software stack in-house, including what Lumina hopes will be the Moonlander's autonomous capabilities. "If you look at every great company that's tackling autonomy — Waymo, Tesla — they built their own hardware stack from scratch," he said. "Waymo built all their sensors from scratch. Tesla built a car from scratch. And I think if we really want to have huge market penetration, I think you need to follow the same approach and not just slap on off-the-shelf parts." The Wednesday demonstration did not show the Moonlander operating independently, but Shubber said the bulldozer is equipped with Nvidia chips, so the Moonlander can be equipped with a full autonomous sensor suite when it's ready. Humble beginnings Lumina's origin has the inklings of the classic Silicon Valley startup story. Shubber, who has no formal background in robotics or construction, told BI that he started his company inside his parents' garage with a hand-me-down John Deere garden tractor. He said he got the equipment for free on Facebook Marketplace and retrofitted it with sensors himself to make it operate remotely. For funding, Shubber said he messaged about 3,000 potential angel investors, and about 10 responded. His first angel investor was Peter Reinhardt, who sold his company Segment, a customer data management platform, to Twilio for $3.2 billion in 2020. Shubber said Reinhardt wrote him a $20,000 check, which allowed the founder to buy a skid steer tractor and automate it. "Ahmed reached out to me years ago on Twitter which I usually ignore, but he was incredibly persistent and showing progress on an extraordinarily thin personal budget," Reinhardt said in an email to BI. "It reminded me of hardware projects I had in college. Maybe a bit too much naive, confidence, and bravado, but I think I had that too ... I figured he deserved a solid shot and I wrote him that first check." Reinhardt added that Shubber has made a lot of progress on the Moonlander and that the founder has a "massive vision." Shubber said he's now looking to raise $20 million to $40 million for its Series A round. He said his revenue target in the next 24 months is $100 million. Shubber said Lumina's business model won't be focused on selling equipment. Instead, it will be the company that performs the excavation on project sites. The start date goal is January 2026. Shunner said Lumina's next prototype is already in the works: a 100-ton electric excavator called Blade Runner.
Irish Times
23-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- Irish Times
End-terrace Victorian home in Rathmines with garden-level apartment for €2.25m
Address : 6 Belgrave Road, Rathmines, Dublin 6 Price : €2,250,000 Agent : Mullery O'Gara View this property on The configuration of number 6 Belgrave Road in Rathmines leaves it open to different living situations. The two-storey-over-basement redbrick has the main home set out over two floors and a garden apartment below, allowing for scenarios such as an independent living space for elderly relatives or young adults, or a rental for extra income. The main entrance to the Victorian end-terrace is up the flight of granite steps. Behind the framed front door is a generous hallway with black-and-white floor tiles. To the right are the two main reception rooms. The decor has been kept clean and simple to allow the original features such as cornicing, marble fireplaces and the shuttered sash windows to do the talking. Previous owners added a double extension at the back, which brings the total floor area of the house to 279sq m (3,000sq ft). Steps down from the hall lead to the kitchen, which is fitted with modern Shaker-style units. There is a balcony at the back and steps down to the south-facing garden. Upstairs the cornicing changes from the elegant and ornate mouldings in the livingrooms to an intricate modillion block design. There is a large bedroom on the hall return that comes with plumbing if new owners want to use this space to create a large family bathroom. READ MORE Hallway Drawingroom Diningroom Kitchen Main bedroom Bedroom On the first floor are three more double bedrooms, all lit up by beautiful sash windows. At the centre are two shower rooms back to back that mirror each other in design. The last bedroom in the main house, with an apex skylight for stargazers, is on the first-floor return. The apartment at basement level has its own entrance from the front garden. It has been completely converted to exist as a separate home with a large porch inside with storage and a coat stand, and double doors that lead into an inner hallway. At the front is a double bedroom with built-in wardrobes and an en-suite shower room. At the end of the hall is an open-plan room that has a fully fitted kitchen to one side and a livingroom with open fire on the other. Open-plan living space in garden apartment At the back, under a glazed roof, is the bright dining area. Doors from here open out to a private courtyard. Behind the kitchen is a second bedroom, also with doors out to the patio. There is a bathroom off the hall, as well as fitted storage units. Number 6, which is Ber exempt, is on the market through Mullery O'Gara, guiding €2.25 million. The road is within walking distance of both Ranelagh and Rathmines villages, but on a sunny weekday morning, it feels incredibly quiet, with the only sound coming from the Holy Trinity church bells at the end of the road. Recent sales on the road include number 18, which had a similar layout and sold for €1.95 million, and number 28, which didn't have the added floor space from an extension, which sold for €1.725 million, according to the Property Price Register.
IOL News
22-04-2025
- IOL News
Investigation launched into KZN teacher's alleged sexual misconduct at Pitlochry Primary School
An investigation is underway by the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education (DoE) into allegations that a teacher had sent a grade 7 learner text messages of a sexual nature at Pitlochry Primary School in Westville. Several parents and concerned residents staged a protest outside the school on Tuesday calling for the removal of the teacher. Spokesperson for the DoE, Muzi Mahlambi, said the matter was reported to the school principal on April 5, 2025. Mahlambi said the circuit manager instituted an investigation immediately. 'The findings and the recommendations are now at the desk of the head of the department to apply his mind and take appropriate actions. We are very disappointed as the department to have such a character teaching our learners. The department frowns at such behaviour,' Mahlambi said. KwaZulu-Natal Parents Association chairperson, Vee Gani, said the matter was brought to his attention on Thursday. Gani said the matter was already being investigated by the DoE. Gani said the complaint was lodged with supporting evidence, and that the DoE should have acted immediately to remove or suspend the teacher. Gani said the department must not place him at another school. On vetting of teachers, Gani said it had a good and bad notion. Gani said a teacher can be cleared today but the nature of the person can change tomorrow. 'Even though vetted, they can still cause a crime. The department should have acted with speed and should have protected the reputation of the school. The relevant parties should have gotten involved to minimise the reputational risk,' he said. Gani said that parents must be vigilant and monitor their children's cellphone. Gani said role-players must do all that they can to prevent it from happening again. 'It gets worse when a protector becomes a violator. I hope justice takes its course and if he is found guilty the department must dispense whatever sanction is appropriate for the crime. Putting an article on social media opens the door for all sorts of blame games to happen,' Gani said. Thirona Moodley, National Professional Teachers' Organisation of South Africa (NAPTOSA) chief executive officer, said they are against any act of sexual grooming or any advances of a sexual nature between an educator and learners. 'Educators stand in for parents while learners are at school .They are to protect learners and not use their positions to exploit our learners. These are allegations that must be tested and before that we cannot be judge and jury. It is for this reason the department must investigate and report their findings to all concerned,' Moodley said. Concerned parent Lee Maharajh said the outcome of the awareness protest on Tuesday did not yield the desired results they expected. Maharajh said parents have been left frustrated with the process. "We wanted answers as parents and community activists as to why it took so long for the school to give feedback on this matter, even via the D6 communicator app. The school failed to give us answers. Instead they chose to go the silenct route. Parents have heard about the matter through social media and television news. We wait with bated breath for the outcome of the investigation," Maharajh said Sydenham police are investigating a case of child grooming following reports that a man was allegedly sending explicit messages to a 12-year-old girl, said police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda. [email protected]
